The Image Collection website is a community-built resource with contributions from multiple botanists and photographers. There are a variety of ways to contribute, as explained on this page. The first step, in most cases, is to request an account to access the web site's data management interfaces.

An account is required to make any online contributions to the Image Collection website. Ways to contribution include uploading photographs, editing species descriptions, and annotating photos. Accounts also provide a way for photographers and description authors to share information about themselves and to specify copyright restrictions and usage guidelines for their photos.

To obtain an account and password, send an email to the Collections Manager. The Collections Manager will create a new account and send back a URL providing initial access to the account so you can specify a user name, password, and enter other information about yourself.

Submit photographs:

We will accept good-quality photographs of any vascular plants, fungi, or lichens that grow wild in Washington. Photos of species that occur outside Washington may also be submitted and will be accessible to public users but will not be associated with a species description page.

After obtaining an account with permission to upload images, photographers may log in to the site and use an online submission form to upload digital photographs and associated metadata in batch. Detailed instructions for preparing and uploading photos and metadata using that form are available as a PDF document. Blank photo metadata files are available in text and Excel format.

Alternatively, contributors may send images and metadata to the Collections Manager as email attachments or by mailing them to the herbarium on a CD or USB drive. Digital images are preferred; special arrangements and funding are required to scan slides or prints. All photographs remain fully copyrighted to the photographer and the photographer can control how others are allowed to use their photos by specifying a copyright and usage statement.

Although we will gladly accept additional images of species for which we already have photos, we are especially interested in species for which we currently have no representation. Please see our lists of taxa lacking photographs: Vascular Plants, MacroFungi, Lichenized Fungi

Annotate Photographs:

Inevitably, some photographs will make it on to the web site with incorrect identifications. Contributors who discover incorrectly identified photos can annotate them by loggin in and using the online interfaces. Users who do not have accounts should send an email to the Collections Manager noting the incorrectly identified photograph and the correct identification that should be applied.

To annotate a photo using the online interfaces, first log in. Then return to the photo you wish to annotate (say, by browsing to that species page and then selecting the photo thumbnail, or by searching for the photo). On the photo detail page, scroll down to the bottom of the photo metadata block and look for the Annotate Photo button. Selecting this button will display a form where a new scientific name can be enter, along with an optional note explaining the basis for the annotation. Names will be validated after you enter them, and errors, if displayed, should be resolved before continuing. When finished, select the Save button.

Write species descriptions:

Species descriptions enhance the usefulness of the photographs and allow the web site to be used as an online field guide. Experience botanists can assist with writing species descriptions by obtaining an account and requesting permission to do so. Once logged in, an a Edit Description button will appear near the top of each species description page to the right of the taxon name. Selecting this button will display an online form where contributors can enter morphological information, identification tips, comparisons to similar species, miscellaneous comments and discussion, and more. You can even expand upon pages that others have written. Contributors are credited for the descriptions they provide.

Site Policies:

All contributions to the WTU Image Collection website are subject to review by herbarium staff and site administrators as a precautionary measure. WTU reserves the right to remove or modify any photos or text. In the event of a concern or conflict, WTU may contact the contributor in an effort to resolve the problem. In exceptional cases WTU may revoke a contributor's account.

Contributors retain copyright to all photographs they submit. Contributors do not retain copyright to other information they provide, such as species descriptions or photo annotations.